Travel Potty Review

Travel Potty Test and Review Any parent, whether they travel full time or just around town, can identify with the challenges of potty training a child. This is especially true when the child is just learning to identify the bodily cues which tell them that they need to go, as finding a suitable place for [...]

Any parent, whether they travel full time or just around town, can identify with the challenges of potty training a child. This is especially true when the child is just learning to identify the bodily cues which tell them that they need to go, as finding a suitable place for them to go and making sure you have everything you need is sometimes difficult.

While traveling with my daughter, Petra, we used a regular little plastic potty that we got in Guatemala, but were not able to makes space for it in our suitcases when we went to board a flight, so it only made it with us as far as Mexico. At my in-law’s house in the USA we learned quick that Petra wasn’t going to put up with being held over a normal size toilet. We also didn’t want Petra using public toilets, especially because she is still only 20 months and puts her hands everywhere. In point, we needed a place for her to go in the house and also when we were outside walking, shopping, or even waiting at a bus station. We needed to find another solution, enter the travel potty.

Travel Potty

Travel Potty to the rescue

The travel potty met all our criteria in terms of portability, hygiene, easy of use, and design — Petra also loves going in it. This lightweight potty folds up into a briefcase (it even has a little handle) for easy packing and transportation, and then can be set up again for use in a matter of moments with no tugging, fussing, or frustration. This design is really great, being kept simple, basic, and easy to use.

Comfort is essential for learning to use a potty and the potty chair is tall enough off the ground for our toddler to enjoy sitting on it. She even sits on it and looks through books as she goes!

The waste can be collected with a disposable plastic bag or a gallon size zip lock bag instead of a plastic container underneath that need to be cleaned after every use like so many other little potties. There are no special bags to purchase and this potty gives me someway to reuse all of those grocery bags that pile up. At home we just dump the contents of the used bag in the toilet and dispose of the bag and on the road or in public we just conveniently dispose of the bag in a trash can. Depending on the situation, you could also just put a small plastic bowl under the potty or nothing at all if you’re outside if you do not have a bag available.

Travel Potty folded up for transport

To rig the potty for use, just snap the seat over the plastic bag, which secures it and holds it in place, and let your kid to his or her thing.

Travel Potty specs

When open, the potty chair is 17.5 “ long 10” wide and 6” tall, when folded it has the same length and width but shrinks to only three inches tall. The overall size isn’t super tiny, but with the compact shape you can put it in a car, stroller, or large diaper bag easily. There are also two compartments on the sides that provide plenty of room for storing extra bags, diapers, and wipes.The Travel Potty is a very sturdy device and the Cool Gear website states that it is for kids up to 70 lbs. The travel potty is also completely self contained — besides the bags there are no parts to a put on or remove — and no assembly is required.

The only negative comment I’ve hear about this potty is that the opening is a little small and without a pee guard could, apparently, be a challenge for a little boy to use. But for our little girl it is a perfect size.

Price of the Travel Potty

At the price of $24.99, this potty is definitely affordable for any budget traveler.

How to buy

The Travel Potty can be ordered directly from the Cool Gear website or from Amazon at Travel Potty Chair.

After traveling on her own for three or four years, Chaya met up with Wade Shepard, the editor of VagabondJourney.com. They were married in 2009, and continue to travel the world together with their young daughter. From time to time Chaya blogs about family travel and life on the road. Chaya Shepard has written 102 posts on Vagabond Journey. Contact the author.

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About Wade Shepard

I’m an itinerant writer who has been traveling the world since 1999, through 90 countries. I wrote Ghost Cities of China, a book which chronicles the two years that I spent in China’s new cities, and have another book about the New Silk Road coming out soon. I’m a regular contributor to Forbes, The Guardian, and the South China Morning Post, and I have been featured on BBC World, VICE, NPR Morning Edition, CNBC Squawk Box, CBC The Current … This is my personal blog where I share stories from the road that don’t fit in anywhere else. In other words, this is my daily diary, raw and real — it is not edited or even proofread. Subscribe below.